Portugal Advances in Mental Health Care with Esketamine Funding
In a pivotal decision for the progression of mental health care, Portugal has embraced the use of esketamine by sanctioning public financing for the drug, bringing new hope to adults diagnosed with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. The Portuguese National Authority for Medicines and Healthcare Products, Infarmed, has greenlighted the use of Spravato, the commercial name for esketamine, facilitating access for patients who have not seen improvement with conventional antidepressant treatments.
Innovative Approach for Patients with Refractory Depression
Patients in Portugal must have experienced inadequate results from at least three distinctive antidepressant regimens to be considered for esketamine therapy. Spravato will be utilized in tandem with oral antidepressants to provide relief for patients grappling with moderate to severe depression who have not found psychotherapy effective and are either non-responsive or unsuitable for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or have decided against using ECT.
Alongside esketamine’s endorsement, a synergistic initiative encompassing medical, pharmaceutical, and psychological experts, together with the National Ethics Council, has launched comprehensive protocols for the medical employment of psychedelic substances as of May 7. This coalition has placed a premium on applying such treatments within a healthcare framework to assure secure and governed therapy alternatives.
Dr. Albino Oliveira Maia, lead of the Neuropsychiatry Unit at the Champalimaud Foundation and a participant in this collaborative group, stressed the necessity for stringent clinical governance for psychedelic treatment. “It is crucial that psychedelic pharmacotherapy be integrated into healthcare systems under strict clinical regulation,” he noted, to inhibit any unsanctioned usage of these compounds.
Presented at the Champalimaud Foundation, the guidelines mark a collective effort to shape an organized approach for the medical use of compounds like esketamine. The protocols serve as an important step forward to incorporate the therapeutic advantages of such drugs into everyday clinical practice, while carefully monitoring their potential misuse outside prescribed settings..
